Soccer Football - Premier League - Brentford v Fulham - GTech Community Stadium, London, Britain - May 18, 2025 Brentford's Yoane Wissa during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Toby Melville EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO USE WITH UNAUTHORIZED AUDIO, VIDEO, DATA, FIXTURE LISTS, CLUB/LEAGUE LOGOS OR 'LIVE' SERVICES. ONLINE IN-MATCH USE LIMITED TO 120 IMAGES, NO VIDEO EMULATION. NO USE IN BETTING, GAMES OR SINGLE CLUB/LEAGUE/PLAYER PUBLICATIONS. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE FOR FURTHER DETAILS..
Newcastle United secured the signings of two new strikers in the summer transfer window, which led to the £130m sale of wantaway Alexander Isak.
Nick Woltemade joined from VfB Stuttgart as a young prospect with bags of potential, while Brentford star Yoane Wissa was brought in to add Premier League experience to the forward line.
Wissa was the sixth-highest scorer in the top flight last season with 19 goals, only five shy of the striker he replaces on Tyneside.
While he arrives at St James’ Park in the latter stages of his career, having turned 29 this month, the DR Congo international offers Newcastle reliability and consistency in front of goal.
The Geordies return to Premier League action this weekend when Wolverhampton Wanderers visit the North East for their clash on Saturday afternoon.
However, the latest international break has thrown a spanner in the works for Wissa’s debut, as he picked up a knee injury while on international duty earlier this week.
Eddie Howe confirmed the setback in his pre-match press conference:
“He [Wissa] won’t make this game, I saw him for the first time yesterday. He’s feeling the effects of the injury he sustained just before he came off. So we are going to have to see how he is.”
There is no definite timeline for Wissa’s absence so far.
He will see a specialist to determine whether he can feature in the Champions League clash against Barcelona next Thursday.
Will Nick Woltemade start vs Wolves?
Wissa’s injury opens the door for either Woltemade to make his Premier League debut tomorrow or Will Osula to step into the centre-forward role once again.
Howe gave Osula the chance to impress in the 0-0 stalemate with Leeds United at Elland Road, but the youngster failed to make the desired impact.
Like Wissa, Woltemade was also involved in World Cup qualifiers, featuring in both games for Germany and registering an assist against Northern Ireland.
The 23-year-old has already earned high praise from the Newcastle boss, who shared his first impressions of his new striker:
“He’s sort of laid back to a degree, but also really relaxed, funny, he’s got a great sense of humour, we could see that straight away. Very warm person.”
“Spoke really well about the team dynamic and wanting to help the team and bringing his qualities to the group. Very selfless in that respect.”
With Wissa unavailable and Anthony Gordon suspended, it would be surprising not to see Woltemade thrown in at the deep end and starting in the centre-forward role tomorrow.
However, Osula is also in contention, so it remains to be seen what Howe decides, and how that choice could impact Newcastle’s chances against Wolves in front of the home support.
About the Author
